5 Haiku

Riccardo Romano: 5 Haiku is the first solo release of the Italian Composer, here also guitarist and producer of the project. In this album he tries to investigate and compare two “not so-distant” cultures.
Each single Haiku, short in duration like the Japanese Poetry, want to express, in a snapshot, suggestions, charm and technical skills.

Composed using the strict rules of the homonymous Japanese poetry reinterpreted from a music perspective and combined with the main 5 harmonics Modus of the Chinese music tradition; this album is also a research to study similarities and differences between the electric guitar and the traditional stringed instruments of the Far East: the Guzheng and Guqin, both considered -in a certain way- an ancient grand-father of the actual western instrument.

This 5 HAIKU not only encompass the eastern world. Even if hidden, the entire chromatic scale is used in combination with modern instrumental techniques. Those techniques are the bridge: avant grade for the westerners, traditional and millenary for the Eastern culture.
Moreover a third layer is here added. Here we find also a solid and structured use of guitar effects and amplification, quintessential of the XXI century, combined with everyday sounds and noises.

The result is a strong comparison between two cultures that cohabit side by side resulting not distant anymore. Those pieces are therefore a recall for a culture that survives and turns; an opportunity to think and reflect on our traditions and about two cultures that become increasingly less distinguishable.